9/05/24: See What I Wanna See
What: Out of the Box Theatrics presents Michael John LaChiusa's musical adaptation of three stories by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Act one is a riff on "Rashomon," transporting the events to New York in 1951. Act two follows a disillusioned priest in the aftermath of 9/11, fabricating a miracle with astonishing results.
And? What a fantastic show. I'd gotten the cast album for the Original Off-Broadway Cast years ago and listened to it, but out of context it was a hard-to-follow album. Now I can't wait to go back and really listen to and enjoy LaChiusa's muscular score. This show circles around the idea of truth, and if and when it matters for truth to be known. In act one, the audience is never granted a definitive version of the "truth" of what happened that night, with three different people claiming responsibility for a death; but one could theoretically parse something out of each character's testimony to see what could be real. In act two, the final truth is one that only the Priest knows. Does it matter that no one else knows, if it regains him his faith? But then again, doesn't Christian faith by definition not require proof? (asking as a heathen).
Truly marvelous cast for this chamber musical, which has been reconfigured with a cast of AAPI performers to reclaim its Japanese lens, including the use of both Bunraku and shadow puppets. It's hard to pick a standout when everyone is so good, but I'm going to do it anyway: Ann Sanders is a national treasure and it's time everyone acknowledged it.
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